How to create bootable USB drive for a PC on a Mac?

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How to create bootable USB drive for a PC on a Mac?

So in short I have a full PC build and a copy of Windows 7, but no optical drive to run the Windows 7 disk on, so I'm going to need to boot from a USB and the only means I have of creating a bootable USB is my Macbook running Yosemite.

So my question is how do I go about doing this? Please tell me it's as easy as selecting 'Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk' in Bootcamp 😁

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Feb 16, 2015 2:46 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 11, 2017 12:04 PM in response to Tokido

In case this issue comes up again, http://unetbootin.github.io/ is the only tool I could find that would allow me to create a bootable USB drive for my pc, since Bootcamp Assistant no longer allows creating bootable USB drives. It's a bit creaky, but it does the job.

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Feb 16, 2015 4:36 AM in response to Tokido

On a Late2013 rMBP, you can use the ISO (from the DVD) to create a USB which contains both Windows installer and BC drivers.

Please see How to install Windows using Boot Camp - Apple Support and Boot Camp: Creating an ISO image from a Windows installation DVD - Apple Support.

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Answer 3

Tokido Author

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Feb 16, 2015 7:01 AM in response to Loner T

I'm afraid that doesn't quite answer my question. I'm still not sure the bootable drive created by Bootcamp would work on a PC because doesn't Mac use FAT32, whereas you need NTFS in a Windows environment?

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Feb 16, 2015 7:18 AM in response to Tokido

On a Mac create an ISO from the DVD and put it in a folder. Run BCA (Bootcamp Assistant) and use it to create a USB2 which will contain both the ISO and BC drivers. Uncheck the last "Install/Remove..." option, if you do not intend to install Windows on Mac.

Macs have no read-write NTFS drivers (Apple provides a read-only drivers), so the partition on Macs created by BCA is FAT, which is converted by the Windows installer to NTFS.

Please also see https://help.apple.com/bootcamp/mac/5.0/help/#/bcmp173b3bf2 and http://imgur.com/a/DuGxr#0.

The USB2 has an AutoUnattend.xml which will silently install BC drivers, but these drivers are intended for Macs to support Mac-specific hardware.

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Answer 5

Tokido Author

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Feb 16, 2015 7:25 AM in response to Loner T

I see. So the NTFS/FAT issue doesn't really matter.

I still have one final issue though: I can deselect the 'install/remove...' option, but the 'Download the latest Windows support software from Apple option' is greyed out, so I can't deselect it.

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Answer 6

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Feb 16, 2015 8:10 AM in response to Tokido

There is no way to deselect it on a Mac. Are you planning to use the USB2 flash drive to install Windows on a Mac or on a Windows PC?

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Answer 7

Tokido Author

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Feb 16, 2015 8:33 AM in response to Loner T

On a PC.

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Answer 8

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Feb 16, 2015 8:54 AM in response to Tokido

If you need to use it on a PC, use Rufus USB tool (https://rufus.akeo.ie) or https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200124.aspx and you can avoid BCA putting BC drivers on the USB. This will give you a clean USB2 without any Mac drivers. You should use the two links and the ISO on the PC directly, instead of creating it on the Mac.

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Answer 9

Tokido Author

Level 1

1 points

Feb 16, 2015 9:31 AM in response to Loner T

As I mentioned in my opening post, I don't have access to a PC. I only have my Macbook. This is why I'm trying to use my Macbook to create a USB boot drive that will work on PC.

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Answer 10

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Feb 16, 2015 9:42 AM in response to Tokido

Just use one of the two links and put the ISO on the USB2 drive. Do not use Bootcamp Assistant. Rufus should work much better since you will not have the diskpart executable (it is Windows only). Do you have Bootcamp/Windows on your Mac?

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